“Kanehsatake : 270 Years of Resistance” deals with the Oka crisis, a confrontation between Mohawk Indians living in an area near Oka and the Canadian military. The interest of a local land development leads to an approval by government to expand a private 9-hole golf course and build a luxury housing, both to be located on the burial ground and sacred pine grove belonging to the Mohawk nation. These served as an impetus for a 270 year battle to officially regain the territory.
A crowd of Mohawk Indians blocked incoming construction equipment, and then the invaders called SQ(Quebec’s provincial police) came in. It was soon escalated to an armed conflict when the SQ fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. In the chaos, some of the Mohawk Indians …show more content…
Alanis Obomsawin was one of them, focused on the history and context behind the conflict. She seemed to want to find the root cause of this tragic incident. So, she provides us with some background about the conflict. The priests of Saint Sulpice had monopolized the territory of Mohawk from 1716 to the first incarceration of a Mohawk Chief 150 years later. The connection point between past and present events backs up the legitimacy of Mohawk Indians’s action. In other words, their action is not just a riot, but a revolution for taking back their honor and protesting against the power of greed and …show more content…
A small number of people with the most power decide either to stop the crisis or to force it through. Among them is Quebec’s Liberal premier, Robert Bourassa. In 1971, he suggested the construction plan of building huge hydroelectric dams in James Bay without any discussion with the Cree Nation. Also, he responded to the Oka crisis with a remark saying “it is hard to defend democracy against people who do not believe in democracy.” In addition, Canada’s prime minister, Brian Mulroney took an unequivocal attitude on the issue. He said, “Canada will not be intimidated by a group of warriors whose actions are illegal.” When the seven local mayors met in support of Ouellette, who had initiated the construction plan in Oka, they asked the press, “why should we negotiate for something that is already ours?” Obomsawin cast a doubt on their attitude using images of tanks, blockades and the menace of police from the front line. The residents in could not access to their homes because of armed troops and their barricades, and they couldn’t get enough of daily necessities. Also, the journalists and filmmakers were detained there with their films and videotapes confiscated. The Mohawk camp was enveloped in flames due to brush fire. All residents, including women and children, started extinguishing the fire to protect their lives and
A crowd of Mohawk Indians blocked incoming construction equipment, and then the invaders called SQ(Quebec’s provincial police) came in. It was soon escalated to an armed conflict when the SQ fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. In the chaos, some of the Mohawk Indians …show more content…
Alanis Obomsawin was one of them, focused on the history and context behind the conflict. She seemed to want to find the root cause of this tragic incident. So, she provides us with some background about the conflict. The priests of Saint Sulpice had monopolized the territory of Mohawk from 1716 to the first incarceration of a Mohawk Chief 150 years later. The connection point between past and present events backs up the legitimacy of Mohawk Indians’s action. In other words, their action is not just a riot, but a revolution for taking back their honor and protesting against the power of greed and …show more content…
A small number of people with the most power decide either to stop the crisis or to force it through. Among them is Quebec’s Liberal premier, Robert Bourassa. In 1971, he suggested the construction plan of building huge hydroelectric dams in James Bay without any discussion with the Cree Nation. Also, he responded to the Oka crisis with a remark saying “it is hard to defend democracy against people who do not believe in democracy.” In addition, Canada’s prime minister, Brian Mulroney took an unequivocal attitude on the issue. He said, “Canada will not be intimidated by a group of warriors whose actions are illegal.” When the seven local mayors met in support of Ouellette, who had initiated the construction plan in Oka, they asked the press, “why should we negotiate for something that is already ours?” Obomsawin cast a doubt on their attitude using images of tanks, blockades and the menace of police from the front line. The residents in could not access to their homes because of armed troops and their barricades, and they couldn’t get enough of daily necessities. Also, the journalists and filmmakers were detained there with their films and videotapes confiscated. The Mohawk camp was enveloped in flames due to brush fire. All residents, including women and children, started extinguishing the fire to protect their lives and